After reading a few of the Generation 1 Traffic Psychology files, I decided on the five subjects that I wanted to discuss. These five subjects are speeding, tailgating, convoys, pedestrian traffic, and aggressive driving. I began my search by first entering Netscape and then moving the mouse to File so I could open a location (it's titled Open Location). Next I typed in the instructor's address and hit enter. This led me to Leon James' Homepage where I clicked on "Psy 459 Students' Homepages" and it brought me to a list of names from the previous semester. Here is where the real search began. I clicked on Joleen Lai's homepage and looked at her lab reports, this is where I found one of my subjects: speeding. Joleen doesn't seem to like speeding or speeders. She talks about how some people, during rush hour, like to weave in and out of traffic thinking that by doing so will get them to their destination quicker. She thinks that people who do this are only causing more accidents and that it doesn't really make a difference when they cut in two or three spaces ahead of where they originally were. Lastly she states how small this island is for anyone to speed on the freeways and by speeding they are endangering themselves as well as others. At the end of her paragraph, she leaves links to other reactions on the topic (Thanks Joleen, it made my search easier and shorter!). So I clicked on Caroline Balatico's name and found out her reactions to speeding. Caroline sort of summarizes Joleen's paragraph and goes on to talk about patience. If more people had the patience to sit and wait in traffic, then it would alleviate some tension, help that person out with their blood pressure, and get that person home in one piece. Next I read Michelle Ota's comments on speeding. She agrees with Joleen about excessive speeding, but she thinks that it's okay to speed a little above the speed limit as long as it's safe and no one is in any danger. She thinks that it's the excessive speeders and the extremely slow drivers that cause most of the accidents on today's roads. She also talks about her grandma and uses her as an example to illustrate her point. Because each of them were linked to each other, they almost agreed on the same thing - that speeding is dangerous. First Joleen talks about the dangers of speeding and weaving, then Caroline adds to her paragraph by stating that if people were more patient, it would help some problems, and finally Michelle adds on, but states that speeding a little over the speed limit is okay as long as safety precautions are taken and no one is in danger.
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I think that speeding is very significant to the topic of Traffic Psychology
because in order for each of us to be traffic psychologists, we need to
assess the need for speed. Is it
really necessary to speed and endanger yourself and
others? By thinking about this before speeding, one is likely to be more aware
of the dangers, speed limits, and other cars on the road. By doing this, they
can decide whether or not speeding is really necessary. For example, say I'm
in traffic and I have somewhere to be, but it doesn't seem like I'm getting
anywhere. I, as a traffic psychologist, can change my behavior by assessing
the need for speed. Of course when I ask myself the question, "should I speed
or not?," the answer should be no according to the surroundings. By speeding I
will only be endangering myself and others and it will not get me to my
destination faster, it might lead me to the nearest hospital.
Since last class, I have been keeping a traffic journal. While driving in traffic, I usually don't speed. Why you ask, because I realize the risks and dangers involved. I'm the type of traffic driver that likes to stay in the middle lane, thinking that it's faster then the far right lane, until I have to get off or get on to another roadway. As soon as I see traffic somewhat clearing up, then I'm off on the great race for home, until traffic stops me again. For those of you that take the airport way, you know what I'm talking about. If there's no traffic whatsoever, I go about 60-65mph (no more, no less). I do this because I'm afraid of being caught by a police officer (don't want to go through that again!!!). The last thing I need is a speeding ticket.
My conclusions are that I should try to follow the "real" speed limit. Just think of how much gas I could save...$$$. But also I think that going over the speed limit by 5mph is okay. Why you ask, I don't really know the reason right now, but stay tuned, I may change my mind.
Before this assignment even had a due date, I was skimming through some of the homepages of generation one and came upon something of interest. The subject was tailgating. I remembered to write down the name of the homepage I was reading - Claudia Kaneshiro. To get to her page, I clicked on Netscape and immediately clicked on open. The computer then displayed this box where I typed out Dr. James' address and this brought me to his homepage. I clicked on "Generation 1" and then clicked on "Psy 459 Students' Homepages." This is where I clicked on Claudia Kaneshiro's name and it brought me to her homepage where I clicked on her index and chose from there the subject that I was interested in. To my surprise Claudia wasn't the tailgater, but rather the tailgatee. She summarized her experience of being tailgated by a jerk. She was so upset that she pressed on her brakes slightly to see if he would catch the hint, but being the jerk that he was, he proceeded to go around her, flicked her off a couple of times, and said something to her. Luckily her window was rolled up and her radio was blasting that she didn't hear any nasty words. After that it seemed like she felt kind of bummed and began to take it personally, but after some thinking to herself, she thought that he was just being temperamental.
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Since there were no links on her paragraph, I went back to the infamous list
of students from generation 1 and I chose to click on Jo Allen. Here I
found a
whole bunch on the subject of tailgating. She starts off by talking
about "legality and tailgating." She
feels that tailgating is against the law
and that a person should stay at least one car length behind the person in
front of them. She feels that because laws were created for us to abide by,
then we should all do the right thing and follow it. Next she discusses
"morals and tailgating." She thinks
that by choosing to tailgate, one is not
thinking about the safety hazards this brings. For instance, if someone is
being tailgated and decides to brake, an accident may happen which may threaten
the lives of the tailgater, the tailgatee, and the even the driver behind the
tailgater. She believes that tailgating can be somewhat controlled if at least
one or two people try to stop tailgating. Finally, she discusses "spiritual
implications of tailgating." What she means by this is that when a
person gets
behind the wheel of a car, they take on a certain attitude. It's like they go
through metamorphosis and turn into this aggressive and impatient roadhog.
Their mindset is automatically changed from a caring human being to a "get out
of my way before I run you over" type of person. She feels tailgating is like
a sin. A person who tailgates has no regard for their fellow man.
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Again there were no links on Jo's page, so I went back to the student list and
there I clicked on the next name - Shane Akagi. I looked at his homepage and
clicked on his index which later brought me to his comments on tailgating. As
soon as I began reading, I immediately got interested, I mean this guy gets
nervous while in traffic - wow! (Sorry Shane, don't mean to tease). Anyway,
Shane likes to leave at least one car length between him and the car in front
of him. By doing so, cars in a hurry like to cut into the space that he
creates (called the sucking in effect). He
doesn't like to tailgate and always
assumes that the person in front of him is capable of anything, so he leaves
that space between them just in case the driver in front of him decides to
brake. If he's being tailgated, he usually gets nervous and tries to pay
attention to what's in front instead of what's behind. His biggest fear is
that he'll be rear ended by some lunatic that decided at the wrong time to
tailgate him and he believes that tailgating is one of the reasons behind
dangerous driving on the freeway.
This time the searching wasn't easy because they were not linked to each other. But that's okay, I survived and I found each person's article to be informative as well as entertaining. To evaluate each person's article and compare them to one another, let's go back to Claudia. Claudia seems to be the only one that writes about her actual experiences with tailgating while the others discuss tailgating along with other topics. Jo discusses the legality, morals, and spirituality of tailgating while Shane shares his feeling on the subject. Overall, I found their comments interesting, it really made me think about the subject and the way I react to it. Thanks guys!
Tailgating is very significant to traffic psychology because to be a good traffic psychologist, one needs to look at their behavior while in traffic. They need to ask themselves the question, "do I tailgate and what are my intentions if I do?" I think that by asking this question and allowing yourself to dwell on the answer leads you to change your mind about tailgating. If you realize that you are causing a hazard by tailgating, then you wouldn't tailgate. I know, again it's easier said then done, but it doesn't hurt to try.
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Since I've been keeping a journal and I've been trying to be attentive to
what I do when I drive, I must admit that I am a tailgater. I don't tailgate
all the time, sometimes I'm the one being tailgated, but just because I do it
doesn't make it right. I think the main reason why I do this is revenge for
another driver. You know how it is, you're driving along minding your own
business and then wham!, a car out of nowhere comes and cuts you off. Doesn't
that make you mad? I get furious, especially if they almost cause an accident.
This happened to me a couple of times before, but the most recent one occurred
yesterday - September 20. There I was, driving
home in the fast lane. When
all of a sudden, the car next to me decides he wants to get into my lane
without checking to see if I was there. If I didn't move, he would've side
swiped me and that would be the end of my car. So what did I do after he
wedged himself into that tiny space? I stuck my hand in the air and yelled,
"what the heck are you doing,?" as if he had supersonic hearing and could hear
what I was saying. I guess he saw my gestures because right away he cut back
into his own lane. That is where the tailgating began. I followed him into
his lane and tailgated him until he cut over two lanes away from me. Then I
got into the lane next to him and pulled up next to his car and just stared him
down. I guess he figured out what he had done because he wouldn't look at me.
Boy, was I grouchy after that. Sometimes when I'm driving to school and I'm
already going over the speed limit, someone will come speeding up behind me and
tailgate me until I move or until they get tired of waiting for me to move. I
don't understand those people. I'm already going over the speed limit, but
these people still want me to go faster. An example of this that I can
remember clearly in my head is one morning as I was driving to school, I
noticed this "luxury" car tailgating me. I thought to myself, "go ahead and
tailgate me, it won't get you anywhere." The driver continued to tailgate me
until he saw the opportunity to weave back and forth two cars ahead of me. Now
tell me, what difference does it make if he's behind me or two cars in front of
me. I don't understand that either.
My conclusions for tailgating is to see if I can resist the urge to tailgate when someone cuts me off or does something to make me angry. By reading through others experiences and opinions, I realize that tailgating can be very dangerous. I drive in traffic every morning and sometimes in the afternoons. While in traffic, I have this tendency to tail the car in front of me so that others won't have a chance to cut in. What happens is that when the car in front of me decides to brake, I have to slam on my brakes just to avoid a collision. Through this I have learned to keep some distance between me and the other cars. I suggest everyone try it sometime. Who knows, it might make your traffic experience more pleasurable.
It took me a long time to find some references for my last three subjects, thank goodness I found some before I gave up and fell asleep. I clicked on each of the students names on the generation 1 list until someone discussed the subject that I wanted. This is where I found pedestrian traffic under Kendell Matsuyoshi's index. In this paragraph, Kendell summarizes someone else's comments on Left vs. Right. Which means, "is the right place to walk on the left or the right side of the sidewalk." He states that no one really notices this until they actually analyze it. It happens everywhere, on sidewalks, stairways, in the mall, etc. He mentions the troubles on the walkway when two people are walking the same path and they sort of do a "dance" to try to get out of each other's way. He concludes that one of the reasons we may walk on the right side is because we drive on the right side also. And finally he states that it would be interesting to see if the people from Japan walk on the left if they drive on the left. Gee, imagine the confusion when they come to vacation here. At the end of his paragraph, he leaves me a link to Jae Isa's comments on pedestrian traffic, so I clicked on that and found out that Jae thinks it's neat how we maneuver ourselves on the sidewalks the same way we maneuver our cars. She believes that this is so unconscious that if someone were to walk against the flow of traffic, they would be breaking a norm. Lastly she states another way that people move like their cars is speed. Some people are fast walkers and like to leave others behind, while some walk at an average pace which helps maintain the flow of traffic, and while still others walk like turtles which leaves the others either stuck behind them or rushing to get around them. At the end of Jae's comments, there were no links, so I went back to the student list and found more information about pedestrians under Terri Slaughter. Terri read a generational curriculum report entitled, "I Own the Sidewalk," which included three groups a person could belong to. These groups are "blind bat," "Mr./Mrs.Aloha," and the "groupies." The "blind bats" are the people who don't pay much attention while walking, but look too polite and act so apologetic to get angry at. The "Mr./Mrs.Aloha" are the people that like to stop and talk to everyone, even if in a rush. Another name for them is the "Mayor" because they seem to stop and talk to someone every minute, like they're trying to boost their campaign. The "groupies" are the two or three people walking together and as you approach them, they sort of fan out across the sidewalk, almost bumping you off the pathway. She concludes with four rules to help when you're feeling frustrated with the sidewalks. They are: (1) be aware of those around you, (2) make your presence known by coughing or some other noise, (3) be polite and think positive, and (4) keep a friendly attitude towards other pedestrians at all times.
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Each of my references on pedestrian traffic have some similarities and some
differences. Let's start with Kendell - he discusses the Left vs. Right ways
of walking on the sidewalk and how we seem to walk the way we drive, which is
on the right side. He also mentions the "dance" that some people get caught in
when both are walking towards each other on the same pathway. Jae's is similar
to Kendell's because they are linked. Jae also talks about the Left vs. Right
ways and thinks that it's neat how we walk much like how we drive. She also
states that we don't realize there is a right or wrong way until someone breaks
the norm. The difference between Jae's and Kendell's comments are that Jae
also talks about the different speeds of pedestrians. Next there's Terri. She
discusses a report that includes three different groups that a pedestrian can
belong to and four ways to aid or avoid frustration. As you can see, Terri's
is completely different from the others. They each contribute to the subject
of traffic psychology with each of their own perspectives on pedestrians. I
never knew that pedestrians are a part of this whole thing, until reading the
stories from my fellow classmates in generation 1.
Their significance to traffic psychology is first making you aware of the fact that pedestrian traffic is actual traffic. When we first hear the word, we automatically think - car. But little do we know that every time we get up to walk somewhere, get on our bike, rollerblades, whatever, we are making traffic. I think knowing where to walk and which way to walk helps all of us. When you really think about it, we do have this unspoken rule that says we must walk on the right side of the sidewalk. The next time you step onto the sidewalk, try walking on the left side and see if anyone looks at you funny.
I notice when walking, I walk on the right side of the sidewalk and I try to maintain a constant speed. I'm basically a fast walker. In high school, some of my classmates used to call me "Speedy Gonzalez" because of my speed when walking. I've learned to adjust my speed from moderate to very fast. When walking with someone, I usually adjust my speed to their speed, but when walking alone, I usually keep a fast pace. Sometimes the way I walk depends on my mood. If I'm feeling lazy, then I'll walk slower than usual. If I'm in a rush, then watch out everyone.
My conclusions for pedestrian traffic is that more people should be aware of the unspoken rule, which is everyone should walk like you drive your car. By doing so, all the confusion of pedestrian traffic, would disappear and there would be less disagreement about which way is the right way to walk.
My next subject was going to be lane switching, but after skimming through all of the other students homepages, I decided on the subject of convoys. I went back to the generation 1 list and clicked on Todd Takitani. Todd discusses a paper called "Dynamics of Convoys" by Tallman. In this report, Tallman discusses different convoys and labels them as patterns in traffic. There are four different types. Convoy #1 is when you have a slow car, otherwise known as a "plug," who disrupts the flow of the traffic and he blames these "plugs" for traffic backups and accidents. Convoy #2 is called "follow the leader." This means that a fast moving car acts as a pace car and everyone tries to keep up. Tallman states that this type of convoy doesn't last very long because you eventually come upon a "plug." He also says that a good position to be in when in a convoy is right behind the leader because the leader is usually the first one caught on the speed gun by a police officer. Convoy #3 is labeled the "spacious-type convoy." This happens when there are many cars moving in their own "packs," but have a good amount of room to maneuver. This type of convoy is Tallman's favorite because you can move at your own pace without disturbing other drivers. The last one, Convoy #4 is termed a "bumper to bumper," otherwise known as rush hour. Tallman states that this is the worst type of convoy to be in because you are stuck in traffic and can't do anything about it. I think this is where patience or frustration sets in.
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I needed more references, so I went back to the list of students lab reports
and clicked on Aaron
Reisner. He begins his section on convoys with a new
meaning for the word convoy. He defines it as "automobiles traveling in groups
with the intentions of not getting a ticket, or with the idea that the closer
they travel the faster they will get to their destination." He then breaks for
a personal reflection and states that in convoys he usually is the last car.
His reasoning for this is so that he can focus on watching for cops. If he
spots a cop, he'll slow down and fall off the convoy and let the others get
caught. He learned this through experience of being in front of a convoy and
not being aware of the cop behind them. He thinks people stay in a convoy for
safety. They think that by being a part of a convoy, they will be less likely
to get lost or shoved off the road. By experimentation, he has made several
observations about convoys. They are: (1)
when a convoy becomes comfortable
with each other, each car becomes a pair with the one in front, and (2) convoys
will eventually build up some sort of respect for each other and will not pass
one another. Lastly, he feels that more people prefer the front of the convoy
because of three things: (1) a constant need to be in control, (2) the
challenge of getting in front, and (3) the psychological reasoning that if you
are in front, then you will be on time. He also states three types of convoy
drivers: (1) leaders, (2) observers or logical drivers, and (3) passive
followers.
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To find one more reference, I went back to the list of students and clicked on
Danell Saito. He found that by traveling in a convoy,
it may be safer because
you are protected from cops, but there is a danger due to the surrounding cars.
With more cars around you, there are more chances for someone to be in your
blindspot. He notices that he doesn't like driving in convoys and he thinks
it's due to wanting privacy or not liking the idea of being held back from
wanting to go a certain speed. He ends by saying that no matter what is said
about convoys, there will always be people who drive in them, people who avoid
them, and people who create them. It all comes down to individuality. If you
feel comfortable in convoys, then drive in them and if you don't, then avoid
them. But as Aaron has said, "There's really no way to avoid them."
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Each of the students' reports were different from each other due to the one
obvious fact - they were not linked to each other. Todd discusses a report
which includes four different types of convoys, while Aaron discusses the
meaning of convoys as defined by his own experiences and reflects on his own
traffic behavior with convoys. His observations lead him to many things. Such
as the reasons why there is a leader, a middle man, and an end, why people
create convoys, and what happens when a convoy has lasted a long time. Danell,
on the other hand, discusses the dangers of being a part of a convoy. Through
his own observations, he concludes that he doesn't care to drive in convoys,
but that there is no real way of escaping them. The only way to escape is to
avoid.
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The significance to traffic psychology is that convoys are a part of our
everyday lives whether we choose to be a part of one or not. As said before,
there is no escape. I think to escape, the only thing you can do is avoid.
Convoys have their good sides as well as their bad sides. One day it may be
good to be a part of a convoy, while the next, it may be a disadvantage. It's
up to the driver to decide when to participate and when not to.
I never really thought about convoys until the subject came up. I now realize that I do drive in convoys sometimes and other times, I try to avoid them. I agree that by being a part of a convoy reduces your chances of getting a traffic ticket, but I also believe that it can be dangerous, especially when trying to keep up with the others. I don't like it when the convoy is going at a slow speed and I want to go faster. When this happens, I usually end up passing the convoy and making myself the leader. That way I can go as fast as I want and the others will just have to try to keep up. Sometimes I like to take my time and this is when I stay at the back of the convoy. By doing this, it allows me to keep an eye out for cops. If I happen to spot one, I just slow down and break from the convoy. Depending on my attitude, I will either avoid or engage in convoys.
Convoys are a part of everyday life. There is no way to make them disappear because there are always people out there creating one. Whether we choose to join them or avoid them, we must be aware of the dangers and plusses that come with it. If we choose to ignore these dangers, we are only putting ourselves in danger.
My final subject is aggressive driving. To get my references on this subject I went back to the list and clicked on Jo Allen. In her lab report she states that she is an aggressive driver. She notices that she is more aggressive then some of the men she knows and concludes that gender has something to do with aggressive driving. Next she discusses the over-confident driver and feels that these two go hand in hand. She says that if a driver is confident then they will most likely be more aggressive. An example she gives is when cutting into a lane with traffic, she sticks the tip of her car in any little space she can find and forces the driver to let her in. But she doesn't drive that way all the time, only when in a hurry. Other times she feels she is a courteous driver.
Next, I went back to the student list and clicked on Nicole Yoshimitsu. Here she discusses a generational curriculum report by Lisa Miller entitled "Road Aggression: Bicycle and Car Interaction." Lisa defines aggression as "an outward act aimed at harming another person." By observing the aggressive acts around her, she found that commercial drivers (taxis, bus drivers, etc.) and race bike riders acted more aggressive than the casual drivers and riders. She hypothesized that these people do this because they needed to be somewhere in a hurry or they were so used to traveling at a fast rate that when slowed down, they tend to become more aggressive. Because Lisa was both a bicyclist and a car driver, she thought she would be more sympathetic to other bicyclists and cars, but found she was wrong. She decided to keep track of all her aggressive acts. She found that by being more aware of her aggressiveness, it decreased considerably. After reading Lisa's paper, Nicole noticed her own aggression while driving. With the help of Lisa's paper, she also decreased her aggressiveness while driving.
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Each of these students discuss the subject of aggressiveness and then relates
it to their own lives. I think it was interesting how Nicole discussed someone
else's paper and then related it to her own behaviors and thoughts and was also
able to decrease her own aggressiveness while driving. Jo on the other hand,
thinks that aggressive driving is related to over-confidence driving and
believes that gender has something to do with the level of aggressiveness
someone has.
Their significance to traffic psychology is that we need to learn to be less aggressive on the road. I think if we accomplish that, there would be less traffic accidents, disagreements, and other dangers on the road. When someone is feeling aggressive, they should try to do things that will calm them down, like singing along with the radio or breathing and counting to ten. Another way someone can reduce their aggressiveness is to become more aware of their aggression (like Lisa and Nicole).
I consider myself an aggressive driver. I don't really know how aggressive I can be, but I feel that I'm more aggressive while driving than other women. Because I learned how to drive from the men in my family, I feel that I am more aggressive in my driving. I wonder if who you learn from determines your aggressive level?
Finally to conclude, I think to become a good and safe driver, one must first become a good traffic psychologist. If this happens, you will know how to adjust your behavior, thoughts, attitudes, and feelings while in traffic. And hopefully this will make your driving experiences more enjoyable and bearable.
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Comments, Suggestions, Etc.